NOVEMBER 10, 2016 VETERANS DAY COMMEMORATION To honor those men and women living in the Thompson community that have served our country, the students and faculty at Tourtellotte Memorial High School had a Veterans Day Commemoration. The students asked questions about the veterans’ experiences and the veterans shared their...

On Thursday, November 10, 2016, members of the TMS Student Council under the advisement of Mrs. Morrison and TMS Band and Chorus under the direction of Mr. Leclerc, organized a Veteran’s Day assembly for students, faculty and staff and members of the community. Special thanks to the Veterans from the community who were in attendance and for Brandon Ballageron for speaking to the audience on the importance of Veteran’s Day and what it means to be a...

Twenty students from TMS recently participated in the 11th annual Quinebaug Valley Middle School Music Festival. This year’s festival was held on November 7th and 9th at Putnam Middle School. The QVMSMF was created in 2006 by music teachers in northeastern Connecticut. These educators sought an opportunity for students to perform in an honors group without the pressure of an audition. In place of the audition, students are nominated based on attitude, effort, musicianship, and contributions to their school’s music program. The festival is a collaborative effort of the music teachers from Ashford, Brooklyn, Griswold, Killingly, Plainfield, Pomfret, Putnam, the Rectory School, Thompson, and Woodstock. The band and chorus consisted of almost 100 students each. Mr. Leclerc would like to congratulate this year’s Thompson Middle School participants! From the band: Katalyna Adams, Emily Carita, Brayden Cutler, Kerrigan LaCasse, Kaitlyn Lamontagne, Alyssa Rice, Hannah Siegmund, Vincent Senecal, and Makayla Tackson. From the chorus: David Britland, Cole Coderre, Boston Daniels, Keiran Olewnik, Makenzie Radegue, Isabelle Shead, Yalecia Snow, Kaylee Tackson, Nicholas Walker, Lindsey Worster, and Samantha...

The Leadership Team consists of students that have shown leadership potential or hold leadership positions in the school. As part of the Leadership Team, students participate in leadership, communication, and team-building field trips, activities, and workshops. Members then use their training to lead Tourtellotte’s clubs and organizations, school-wide initiatives, and productive classroom experiences. Members of the team learn valuable life skills that will encourage the leading of Tourtellotte students in a positive direction. In this way, members of the Leadership Team are also prepared to continue to take on leadership roles beyond high school. A major subcommittee of the TMHS Leadership Team is the Student Council. The Student Council consists of all class officers. The Student Council meets bi-weekly with administration to discuss student views and recommendations on school issues. The administration and faculty then takes student views into consideration when making decisions for Tourtellotte. In 2016 members of the Student Leadership Team also became members of the Promotion Committee, a formerly faculty-only committee. They have given their voice to the new student recognition programs, The TMHS Student Spotlight and Tiger Shout-outs. These students were also involved in the revision of the TMHS behavioral expectations. Major roles of the Student Leadership Team include planning spirit events and conducting service activities. Some of its major spirit activities include planning pep rallies, spirit weeks, and the Homecoming Dance. The TMHS Student leadership Team serves the community through its “Trick or Treat for Canned Goods” and “Tags for Tots and Teens” during the holidays, as well as a blood drive for the American Red Cross. The TMHS Student Leadership Team is actively...

On November 2nd, band members from the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades attended the 32nd annual School Concert Series presented by the United States Coast Guard Band. The students traveled to Leamy Hall at the historic U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London to experience an educational and entertaining hour long performance by a world-class 50-piece Concert Band! This year’s performances, led by the Band’s Assistant Director Richard Wyman, featured music of varying styles, with interesting background information about each selection. This year’s theme was “Where’s the Beat?” and gave students an insight to the different ways that composers use rhythm in their music. The students practiced some conducting patterns, learned a clave rhythm used in Latin music, and learned about “riffs” that are traded back and forth between instruments. As a tradition, the students were also treated to a performance of the Star Spangled Banner, Semper Paratus (the U.S. Coast Guard marching song), as well as John Phillip Sousa’s The Stars and Stripes Forever. Justin Leclerc Thompson Middle School Band and Choral Director Visit the TMS Music Website<http://teacherweb.com/CT/ThompsonMiddleSchool/MrLeclerc/apt1.aspx> for important updates and concert information. You can sign up for Remind<http://teacherweb.com/CT/ThompsonMiddleSchool/MrLeclerc/apt18.aspx> to receive reminders and other important information by text...